March 14 - Gold Harbor & Ocean Harbor

This morning we were anchored off the northeast coast of South Georgia Island at Gold Harbor, and from this ship it was already possible to see that they hadn’t been kidding when they said that we’d see penguins today.  All along the beach, there were tens of thousands of penguins, maybe hundreds of thousands, and it was also easy to pick out the huge Elephant Seals lazing on the beach.

Our first view of Gold Harbor and all the Penguins

The Red Group was called to the Zodiac deck at the stern of the ship (they call is the “Marina”) for a 9:40 disembarkation, and Jim & I were there in time to get in the first Zodiac.  It was a longer, and much rougher ride across to the landing spot than usual, and although there was a wide sandy beach, the surf made it probably the hardest landing yet.  

But we made it and then were rewarded with 90 minutes ashore amidst the most amazing spectacle of penguins and seals that you could imagine.  Almost all were King Penguins, with a very few Gentoo Penguins here and there.   The black, white, orange and yellow plumage of the Kings was just magnificent in the sun, and there were penguins as far as the eye could see.  Hundreds of thousands at least.  To the right of the landing spot was a cluster of enormous, napping Elephant Seal males, I counted at least 25.  Closer to the beach were smaller seals, and of course the penguins everywhere.  Then to the right of the landing spot was the bulk of the colony, so thick with penguins and seabirds that you couldn’t have gotten through even if you wanted to.  The penguins were pretty fearless, walking right up to within a couple of feet of you….while you were looking in one direction and taking photos, more penguins would come up from behind to inspect what was going on.

Towards the left behind the beach was a shallow, gravelly stream of glacial melt that some of us walked through to get a vantage point (still standing in the stream) from behind the main colony.  On the land side of the stream were clumps of Tussock Grass, which if you looked closely, hid smaller seals that were mostly napping.  And everywhere around was the sound of the penguins, the big Elephant Seals bellowing, and the smaller seals playing.  

After our 90-minute allotment, it was back in the Zodiac, which again wasn’t easy, then back to the ship in pretty choppy water.  This time, for the first time, the seas at the unloading platform were pretty rough, so the Zodiac was rising up and down pretty dramatically, which made it hard to step off onto the ship, but with one crew member holding on to each arm, and some good timing, everybody managed to transfer safely, then up a few stairs to the boot washing and pressure washing station, up another flight to the check-in spot (the parkas have a little clear plastic window on the left sleeve where you put your cabin card, which has a bar code that they scan when you leave and return to the  ship).  Next are several  bootjacks to help get the big rubber boots off, then inside to the lounge for hot cocoa!

Here are a bunch of photos and videos from the morning outing:

This was the first photo that I gook after stepping off the Zodiac

The colors of the King Penguin plumage in the sunlight was just amazing

We were told that this was a group of not-fully-adult
male Elephant Seals, but they looked plenty big!

If you look closely, you can see some of the
fluffy, brown chicks mixed into this crowd 

During lunch, the ship repositioned up the coast to Ocean Harbor, where our afternoon excursion would take place. Along the way we were, of course treated to some spectacular views of the coastline off the port side -

Arriving at Ocean Harbor, the ship dropped anchor right outside the cove, and it was warm enough on deck to be out in the sun in short sleeves.  The Zodiacs ashore started a little after 4:00 pm, but at 4:00 pm they had offered a “hike” up to a viewpoint overlooking the harbor, and although they did their best to warn everybody that it would be arduous, I signed up anyway.  

We landed on the beach surrounded by hundreds of the cutest little seal pups playing in the surf and on the beach.  The pups were really endearing, looking up at us with their huge eyes, and approaching with no fear whatsoever, wanting to check us out or play.   The beach led up to a broad grassy expanse in which there was an old hut and some rusty old machinery.  It looked pretty normal until you looked closely and realized that the field was just with seals for as far as the eye could see.  Most of these seals were mothers and pups, but there were a few larger males, and a group of about three huge male Elephant Seals who were napping together in the sun.

The hike was indeed arduous, mostly because we were all layered up with parkas and hats from the Zodiac ride, so it didn’t take long for everyone to get hot, so we stopped and peeled layers off.  We trudged up the slope through boggy grass, across little pebbly streams, and finally past the point of any vegetation, and then across rocky scree for as far as you could see.  Despite the difficulty of the climb, just about everybody made it to the top, although we were all pretty bedraggled by the time we got there.   They told us that the climb was about 300 meters, or 1,000 feet, but even though it was tough, it didn’t feel like that much.  Anyway, here are some photos from the afternoon:

In the Zodiac, headed to Ocean Harbor & the hike

Look closely, there are seals everywhere

Seal pups and a Giant Petrel

The big bull seals all taking a nap together

The ship hoisted anchor as soon as everybody was back on board, and we’re headed up the coast again for an early morning stop at Fortuna Bay, then the old whaling station at Grytviken.  Two shore excursions tomorrow, weather permitting, and then we leave South Georgia Island and head for Montevideo.